


Learning Experience

by ShadeSpeaks



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Bonding, Heart-to-Heart, Kink Negotiation, Love Hotel Rewrite, Love suite rewrite, Non-Sexual Bondage, Non-Sexual Kink, Other, Platonic BDSM, Rope Bondage, Undefined Relationship, Vulnerability
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:48:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24888616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadeSpeaks/pseuds/ShadeSpeaks
Summary: “All of this meant thatShuichi had already gotten the chance to show off his talent to Korekiyo by performing investigations with the Killing Game going on (though he wished it was in better circumstances) and Kiyo, ever eager to share his own wealth of knowledge, wanted to show the detective what he found ever so fascinating about ropes.”
Relationships: Saihara Shuichi & Shinguji Korekiyo, Saihara Shuichi/Shinguji Korekiyo
Comments: 1
Kudos: 96





	Learning Experience

**Author's Note:**

> Never thought I’d have to use the Platonic BDSM tag but, turns out I kind of like it here.

Even with all of his detective skills, Shuichi wasn’t entirely sure how he got into this particular situation. Korekiyo’s crimson rope held his wrists together in complicated-looking knot. At the moment, Shuichi was sitting on the edge of his own bed, his bound hands resting in his lap while Korekiyo tied his dangling ankles together. 

They’d been…well they weren’t calling it dating; they weren’t really calling it anything but they’d been definitely close for some time now. They’d bonded over quiet hours spent together in the library. They were often the only two there for hours at a time which naturally led to talks of anthropology, past cases, world myths, and unsolved murders.

Eventually, they started seeing each other outside of the library room as well. Conversations were moved to the dining hall or the dorm rooms. Their time spent together was comfortable and they could regularly talk for hours.

Unfortunately, in the middle of a killing game, time spent together was not always pleasant. Murder investigations meant that Shuichi had to use his skills to track down the culprit while Korekiyo observed Shuichi almost as much as the clues themselves. That’s just how Korekiyo was, a natural observer. His insights into human behavior and motivation had even led to breakthroughs on a few occasions. 

All of this meant that   
Shuichi had already gotten the chance to show off his talent to Korekiyo by performing investigations with the Killing Game going on (though he wished it was in better circumstances) and Kiyo, ever eager to share his own wealth of knowledge, wanted to show the detective what he found ever so fascinating about ropes. It wasn’t directly a part of his talent but he cared about it and it’s cultural significance enough that it may as well have been.

Knowing how skittish Saihara could be, Korekiyo had insisted they discuss their little plan extensively before he even would consider getting his rope. Shuichi didn’t realize how thankful he was for that until Korekiyo finished the knot at his ankles and stood, looking him in the eye. 

Korekiyo’s head tilted slightly, meeting the other’s eyes after admiring his own handiwork.   
“Are you doing alright, Shuichi?”

Saihara’s brain finally caught up with the reality that he was, in fact, restrained. With Korekiyo being occupied with tying the second knot, he had almost forgotten what they were here for and having eyes on him made him feel so much more self-conscious. 

Swallowing the bit of panic rising in his chest, Shuichi took in a deep breath and let it out shakily. “Uh…y-yeah. Just nervous, I guess.”

Korekiyo brought a hand up to cradle his own cheek and looked thoughtful for a moment. “That’s not an unexpected reaction for one’s first time,” he said before gesturing at Shuichi’s feet with his free hand. “I can undo the knot if you like.”

“N-no, I think I’m alright. I’ll let you know if you need to, okay?”

Korekiyo placed a bandaged hand onto Shuichi’s knee, and yellow eyes met gray. “Shuichi, if you need to stop at any point, I will not be disappointed with you. You just need to say so. This is not a scene; I will take your words at face value.”

The Anthropologist was so earnest in his words. It made the detective’s heart swell that he was so serious about making sure Shuichi felt safe. 

Saihara nearly laughed. “We must have talked about that for three hours before we started but thank you for reminding me. This is…very new but I trust you, Korekiyo.”

“Knowing something beforehand can be different than actually experiencing something…like this. While this is an activity I greatly enjoy, I have done it many times and know what to expect.” 

Shuichi slowly laid back onto the bed and gave the other a smile that he hoped looked reassuring.

“I know I’m in good hands with you.”

The concern melted from Korekiyo’s face, pleased with how Shuichi was handling the situation. 

“Kehehe…though I cannot deny I am pleased that you wish to continue.” 

Korekiyo moved to one side of the bed and perched himself on the edge. This change in their positions meant Korekiyo was towering over Shuichi as he peered down at him inquisitively.

Being in such a vulnerable position once again caused worry and doubt to bloom within Saihara. Not that he didn’t trust Korekiyo, he wouldn’t be doing this if he didn’t, but it went against everything his anxiety-prone mind told him to do. He swallowed thickly.

“You experienced something like this for the first time during your travels right? Could you remind me?” Korekiyo’s stories never failed to enthrall Shuichi, he knew just listening to him for a moment would bring his confidence back.

“Kehehe, but of course." Korekiyo crossed his arms and raised a finger. “I visited a rural village in the north. It was located in the mountains and largely cut off from outside influence. It is custom there to bind any visitors to the village with ceremonial rope as a traditional welcome.”

Shuichi tilted his head against the pillow as Shinguji paused.  
“Isn’t that a bit extreme?,” Shuichi offered. He had mentioned before that this trip had been life-changing for him and Shuichi could only guess that the other was recalling the experience while he was lost to the world for just a moment. 

“Of course by our standards it is very odd because that isn’t common practice here,” Korekiyo was back in the present moment in a heartbeat and quickly resumed his story. “Have you ever heard the phrase ‘what is normal to the spider is chaos to the fly?’ It’s not a perfect metaphor by any means but what is considered normal is entirely subjective and differs greatly throughout time and space.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. I know there’s places where it’s considered disrespectful to wear a hat indoors.” He looked sheepish as he said it, both remembering the hat he always wore up until recently and worried he had provided a stupid example. “Wait, did you know that it was their custom before you went?” His social anxiety evaporated in a flash as he realized Korekiyo likely had no idea what he was walking into all those years ago.

He shook his head side to side.  
“No, I was unaware. There was not much information available on this particular community. The lack of knowledge about the area is actually what drew me in.”

Shuichi gave a start, inadvertently tugging at the knots he’d nearly forgotten about during Korekiyo’s story. “Seriously? I don’t—,” He paused long enough to push himself up on an elbow. “I don’t mind doing this with you but I can’t even imagine being tied up by strangers! That’s a totally different thing.”

Korekiyo tilted his head in what looked to be a mixture of confusion and amusement, as if no one had thought to ask if they should be concerned about him before.

“Your concern is appreciated. It was…an unpleasant experience at first with having no say in the matter. I believe I told you before that they whipped me as well?”

He closed his eyes now, fully immersed in the memory. “That is what changed things. The pain pushed me into a…spiritual ecstasy that became a beautiful experience I was able to draw from.”

His yellow eyes opened again, easily bringing his attention back to Shuichi. 

“It reminds me of the myth of the god Loki who is bound underneath a snake that is dripping venom. His bindings are the intestines of one of his own children, no less. The god quivers in pain and his movement is said to cause earthquakes. Bound by the remains of one’s own blood relative and forced to endure suffering. It sounds terrible, yes?”

Shuichi eased himself back down onto the mattress at the request of his aching muscles trying to hold him up in such an uncomfortable way and settled in to listen to another one of Korekiyo’s tales.

“But he is assisted by his wife, the goddess Sigyn, who holds a bowl to catch the venom, which only hits the god when she must empty the container. With the help of his lover, Loki survives this travesty and it becomes what pushes him to cause Ragnarock, the end of world. Which could be seen as a beautiful thing, a chance to get back at his tormentors and start the whole world anew with his remaining family.”

“Wow,” Shuichi’s voice became reverent. “You can really find the beauty in anything, can’t you?” 

“It’s an intriguing position to be in, no?” Amusement crept into Korekiyo’s voice as he leaned in and lightly touched the knot holding Shuichi’s hands together, inspecting his own work again before his eyes flicked back to Shuichi. “Minus the deadly poison, of course.”

He returned his hands to his lap once he was satisfied the knot had not been pulled too tightly or come loose.

“Unlike your detective work where you are fighting for control over the situation and the culprit, the appeal here is the giving up of control. To do this with someone is to make yourself vulnerable to them. It’s showing one’s neck to another and being secure in your trust that they won’t bear their fangs and take a bite. Such a display of trust is absolutely beautiful.” 

Korekiyo could talk so strangely sometimes and Shuichi knew it bothered the other students but he had learned that the odd language was just a harmless quirk of Korekiyo’s. Years of reading ancient manuscripts would likely do that to anyone.

As if reading Shuichi’s mind, Korekiyo’s brought that exact topic up. “You know, Shuichi, none of the other students will spare a glance my way, minus the occasional distrustful glare. Much less allow me to do anything like this, are you secure in your decision?”

“I…” Shuichi shrank in on himself at Korekiyo’s statement. Shuichi didn’t miss how Korekiyo’s brow knit together, unsure for once. “I think that the other students misjudge you, Kiyo.” 

Korekiyo let out a soft gasp and his eyes widened.

“Did you think I would run away after all this?” Realizing that action would be impossible, Shuichi corrected himself. “Or try to, that is...” Shuichi’s voice quickly lost its quiver as he started to speak with a conviction rivaling Kaito’s. “I trust you! I wouldn’t have agreed to this or spent time with you in the first place if I thought you would hurt me!”

There a heavy silence in the air for several seconds.

Korekiyo broke eye contact first, looking down at his lap before speaking.

“That was not the response I was expecting but I am happy to hear it and I assure you that you are safe with me.” 

“Are you all right?,” Shuichi asked. Korekiyo’s usually sharp eyes had gone glassy for a moment in the silence. Anyone else might have missed it, but not the Ultimate Detective.

Korekiyo’s voice was quieter now, “For a moment there…you reminded me of my sister.”

“She means a lot to you, doesn’t she?” A look of melancholy crossed Shuichi’s features. “I was never really close with my family.”

“Yes, we share a bond that I’ve never quite experienced with anyone else. It’s as if I carry her with me at all times.” His usual lecturer’s tone had been replaced with something softer. “I think you two would get along well actually.”

“Do you think I could ever meet your Sister, Kiyo?” 

Korekiyo had said before that he thought Shuichi would be a good friend for his sister if he were a girl. That had puzzled Shuichi at first but he felt he was starting to unravel the mystery of Korekiyo’s sister.

The Anthropologist toyed with the edge of his mask for a moment before responding. His expression could be difficult to read with so much of his face covered but Shuichi could tell by the way the corners of his eyes crinkled that he was genuinely smiling.

“Perhaps.”

**Author's Note:**

> This kind of ended up being a fix-it fic although that wasn’t my original intention. I do like Korekiyo’s love hotel scene but poor Shuichi seems so scared during it. I think if Korekiyo ever truly got the chance to share something that obviously means a lot to him with someone who also means a lot to him, he’d want them to be (mostly) calm during it.  
> But I know the love suites are their own weird little scenes and that’s fine.
> 
> I listened to Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea by MISSIO and If I’m Being Honest by Dodie while I finished working on this if anyone is interested in some recommended listening.


End file.
